Medieval Piss Pot

Handcrafted Medieval Piss Pot – Linlithgow Palace Style

Details

This remarkable replica is based on a late medieval piss pot discovered at Linlithgow Royal Palace, now part of the Historic Scotland collection. As medieval towns and palaces grew in size and complexity, so too did the need for sanitation systems to protect against illness and disease.

The result was a hierarchy of hygiene: garderobes for royalty and nobility, piss pots like this one for senior courtiers, and communal latrines for lower-ranking servants. The very poorest, as ever, made do with the nearest hedge.

Despite the presence of such facilities, it was still common for courtiers to relieve themselves in corners, corridors, or even fireplaces. As Thomas Tusser lamented in 1573 in his Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie:

Some make the chimnie chamber pot to smell like Filthie stink,
Yet who so bold, so soone to say,
fough, how These houses stink?
(Hibbert, 1987, p. 201)

These pots also played a more practical role in the medieval economy. Urine was valuable, particularly in the tanning of animal hides and dyeing of cloth. Entire families would contribute to a communal pot, which was then taken to the tannery and sold—a practice some believe gave rise to the phrase ‘taking the piss’.

Materials
Grogged earthenware with green glaze

Dimensions
Height: Approx. 225 mm

Production

This piece has been handmade in Northumberland by Potted History, faithfully based on the original artefact. It has been wheel-formed, just as the original would have been, then finished with a green glaze created using ground lead and copper suspended in water, a technique commonly used during the medieval period. The pot was then fired to a temperature between 800°C and 1000°C, producing the same textural variations and colour shifts seen in historical examples.

Health & Safety
This is a museum-quality replica, made using historical tools and methods.
Although decorative, we do not recommend using this pot for its original purpose—it would become very smelly, very quickly. Best enjoyed as an intriguing conversation piece, not as a practical chamber pot.

Ordering Information
'Add to Basket' Items: Ready to ship immediately.
'Pre-order' Items: Handmade to order within 90 days (longer for international orders). If your order includes both 'Add to Basket' and 'Pre-order' items, they will be shipped together once all items are ready.

Shipping 
All items are sent via second-class postal service as standard.
If you require first-class shipping, please contact us for a custom quote.
Postage Note: All items are carefully packaged to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.

A conversation-starting piece of medieval material culture—perfect for the historically curious, the theatrically inclined, or anyone with an eye for the less glamorous side of history.